Tube-rolling apparatus.



1L2. BROOK & w. M. SELKIRK.

' TUBE RULLING APPARATUS.- APPLICATION FILED 1120.19, 1910.

1,646,436, I Patented Dec. 10, 1912.

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(o [q I) .L WITNESSES. INVENTORS. W @(Mmm 6. Z; vwbugjumw UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RICHARD E. BROOK AND WILLIAM M. SELKIRK, OF MONESSEN, PENNSYLVANIA,

ASSIGNOR-S TO PITTSBURGH STEEL PRODUCTS COMPANY, OF

PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

TUBE-ROLLING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 10,1912.

Application filed December 19, 1910. Serial N 0. 598,146.

clare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description thereof. 1

Our invention relates to apparatus for the manufacture of tubing, and more especially seamless tubing.

The object of our invention is to provide a simple and efficient means for handling mandrel bars in connection with the tube. rolling mill, so that the blank may be forced through the rolls onto the mandrel bar and themandrel bar withdrawn in the opposite direction to which the tube was passed through the rolls, thereby releasing the tube from the mandrel bar to permit it to be passed back to thereceiving side of the rolls.

To these ends our invention comprises,

generally stated, suitable rolls for rolling the tube and supports at opposite sides of the rolls, together with a pusher arranged at one side of the rolls adapted to push the blank through the rolls onto a mandrel bar held up in proper position in the roll pass, and means carried by the pusher for grasping the mandrel bar so that on the return of the pusher the mandrel bar is drawn through the rolls in the opposite direction to the feed of the tube, whereby the tube is thus stripped from the mandrel bar so that it can be transferred to the receiving side of the rolls to be again fed. through the rolls, the mandrel bar ha-vingmeanwhile been returned to the opposite side of the rolls.

Our invention further comprises in conjunction with suitable rolls, a mandrel-bar and its support at one side thereof, and

means at the opposite side of said rolls adapted to seize the front end of said mandrel-bar.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a side elevation partly in section of our improved apparatus; Fig. 2 is a plan view; Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail of the gripping mechanism; Fig. tiS a modified form of our invention; Fig. 5 is an enlarged'view of the grlpping mechanism shown in Fig. 3; Fig.6 is an enlarged view of-the gripping mech- PITTSBURGH,

anism shown in Fig. #1; and Fig. 7 is a section on the line T-7 Fig. 0.

In the drawings the numeral. 2 designates suitable housings containing the power driven rolls 3. At one side of the housing is the table 41 and tr'ough 41* supported thereby and operating in connection with said trough and in line therewith is the pusher 5 which in the present case consists of a cylinder with the ram or piston 6 therein. At the rear of the cylinder 5 is an inlet pipe 7 for the admission of the air or other motive fluid employed to operate the ram. The piston-rod 6 has the passage 6 extending through it longitudinally thereof and communicating with the rear end of the cylinder through the port 6 of the piston 6.

A pipe 7 communicates with a port at the forward end of the cylinder to return the piston and a valve 7 is provided to control the admission of fluid to the opposite ends of the cylinder alternately. Connected to the piston-rod 6" is the combined pusher and gripping device which comprises the frame or casing 8 with the flaring opening 9 at the front end thereof and gripping jaws l0 and 11 connected by the pin 12. At the rear end ofthe casing S is the cylindrical chamber 13 to receive the piston 14. Connected to the piston 14 is the rod 15 with-the enlargement 16 at the front end which engages the rear arms of the gripper-jaws 10 and 11, so that when the piston 14 is withdrawn, as shown in Fig. 5, the gripping jaws are closed, and when the piston letadvances, said jaws are permitted to open as fully hereinafter setforth'.- A spring- 17 is interposed between the piston let and a ring 18 resting against abutments 18 ,to withdraw the piston 11 when the air is released from the opposite side thereof as will more fully hereinafter appear. The piston-rod 6* being hollow the air or other motive flnid passes-through the same into chamber 13 so as to operate the piston 14. At the opposite side of the housing 2 is the mandrel support 20 which sustains themandrel 21 against end pressure when the tube is forced through the rolls onto the mandrel. The forward end of the mandrel 21 is reduced to form the pin or projection 22 which receives the mandrel plug'23, said pin 22 projecting beyond said plug.

When our improved apparatus is in operation the tube or blank to be rolled is placed in the trough 4- and the motive fluid is admitted to the rear end of the cylinder 5. The ram is advanced and with it the pusher 8, which engages the rear end of the tubeblank. As the pusher advances the tubeblank is carried along the table 4: and into the pass of the rolls over themandrel-plug 23. The pusher continues to advance until .fthe blank is forced through the rolls and the pin or projection 22 on the mandrel rod enters the opening 9 in the frame 8 and passes into the open jaws 10 and 11. The piston 14 has meanwhile been advanced by the admission of the motive fluid to advance the: pusher and in this position of the piston '14 the jaws 10 and 11 will be opened as "shownflin Fig. When, however, the rear ",end of the cylinder is opened to the exhaust I the pressureon the piston 14 will be released and the spring 17 will act to force the piston back and close the jaws thereby gripping the forward end of the mandrel-rod. -At the time of the opening of the exhaust the port 28 at the forward end of the cylinder is opened and fluid is then admitted to the cylinder5 to return the pusher. The

mandrel gripped in this manner is therefore drawn throughthe rolls onto the table 4 and is freed from the pipe which remains on the opposite side of, the rolls. The pipe may 'now be transferred in any suitable way to the receiving side of the rolls and during this operation the cylinder 5 is operated to move the mandrel back to its original posi tion to receive the tube on its next pass through the rolls.

In Figs. 4 and 6 we have illustrated a modified form of our invention in which the piston 25 which operates the jaws 26 and 27 acts to close said jaws when said piston is advanced due to the tapering head 25 engaging said jaws. Thespring 29 retracts 1 the head 25 thereby releasing the jaws and permitting them to swing open. When the pusher is advanced the air or other motive fluid is admitted by the pipe 7 and as the piston 6 is solid, the air does not get into the passage 6 until the piston 6 has been advanced to the proper distance to bring the gripping jaws into engagement with the extended portion 22 of the mandrel bar, whereupon motive fluid is admitted by the port-@ 28 to the cylinder 5 whence it passes by -gpoirt 29 to the passage 6 which acts to.

advance the piston 25 and so close the gripper while at the same time the fluid passing through the port 28 into the cyllnof tubes are very heavy and require as many as three or four men" to handle the same.

, What we claim is:

1. In tube rolling apparatus, the combination with the rolls, of a mandrel bar and its support at one side of the rolls, a mandrel, a pusher at the opposite side of the rolls, and means carried by said pusher for seizing the forward end of said mandrel-bar.

2. In tube rolling apparatus, the combination with suitable rolls, of a mandrel-bar and its support at one side of said rolls, a mandrel, a pusher at the opposite side of said rolls, and a' gripper carried by said pusher adapted to seize the front end of the mandrel-bar.

3. In tube rolling apparatus, the combination with suitable rolls, of a mandrel-bar and support at one side thereof, a mandrel plug, said mandrel-bar having a reduced end portion projecting beyond the mandrelplug, a pusher at the opposite side of said rolls, and means carried by said pusher for gripping the reduced portion of said mandrel-bar.

4. In tube rolling apparatus, the combination with suitable rolls, of a mandrel-bar and its support at one side thereof, a mandrel, a fluid operated pusher at the opposite side of said rolls, a gripping device carried by said pusher, a piston, means for opening and closing said gripper by the movement of said piston, said piston being operated in one direction by fluid pressure, and a spring forcing said piston in the opposite direction.

5. In apparatus for rolling tubing, the combination with suitable rolls, of a mandrel-bar and its support at one side thereof, a mandrel, a fluid operated pusher at the opposite side of said rolls, a pusher-head having an opening therein to receive the forward end of the mandrel bar, grippingjaws within said head, a piston, means carried by said piston for operating said jaws, means for admitting fluid to one side of said piston to advance same, and a spring inter-' gripping jaws carried by said pusher adapted to seize the forward end of said mandrel bar, a second piston, the fluid for advancing said pusher acting on said second piston to release said gripping jaws, and means for returning said second piston to close said gripping aws around said mandrel bar.

7. In apparatus for rolling tubing, the

combination with suitable rolls, of a mandrel-bar and its support at one side thereof, and a traveling gripping-device at the 0pp0- site side of said rolls adapted to seize the front end of said mandrel-bar.

8. In apparatus for rolling tubing, the combination with suitable rolls, of a mandrel-bar and its support at one side thereof,

a mandrel, and means movable in a line at right angles to the axis of the rolls at the opposite side of said rolls adapted to seize the front end of said mandrel-bar.

9. In apparatus for rolling tubing, the combination with suitable rolls,'ot a mandrel-bar and its support at one side thereof,

2 a mandrel, and a reciprocating gripping device at the opposite side of said roll adapted to seize the front end of said mandrel-bar.

In testimony whereof, we the said RICH- ARI) E. Buocn and \YILLIAM )l. SELKIRK have hereunto set our hands.

RICHARD E. BROCK. \VILLIAM M. SELKIRK. \Vitnesses Rom-:e'r C. 'lor'rnx, J 011x F. WILL. 

